A quick peek in the sketchbook

A bunch of folks have asked me at events if I made sketches of my works or just started working the metal.

The answer is yes, and no... I don't think they all qualify as sketches. They are more like doodles.

sometimes they are really rough plans of a shape or way to shape a part of a piece-and at times I am lucky if I can remember what it was supposed to be!

I grabbed a bunch and thought I'd post them here ..(please pardon the image quality, I had to use the cell camera as the other was ill at the moment)

I'm always amused that people want to look through the sketchbook... like it's the secret sauce recipe...

well, maybe it is, for me?

Morgan County TAG kids

This past Wednesday was really exciting! I went to the Cotaco School and taught 165 kids to make copper heart ornaments they got to bring home. That picture was about half of them!

I'll see if I can get some more pictures to post here, but once they let the kids at me there was No more picture taking time for me!

The kids were all so wonderful.. I was very impressed. There must be a lot of proud parents out there, or there should be. I found striking examples of excellent manners, selflessness, team spirit, and kindness there.

I hope to be able to make this a yearly event, it sure boosted my spirits!

Thanks so much to my good friends Kerry and Dan. I'll be able to do that over and over as they furnished most of the tools to do this.

Kerry invented the bolt hammers for this project, and made up 15 of them. They were perfect for this project.

Dan donated to supplies & furnished me with great hardwood blocks to make the forms with.

Thanks also to Karen Kelley of the schools for all her help in getting me informed so I was properly prepared.

After that I was interviewed by Beth Norwood of WLRH in Huntsville. That was a lot of fun too.

I had to race to get there in time, but got there a few minutes early, if out of breath.

Beth really was wonderful, she got me to say all sorts of things I never would have thought of.

Next Show!

Edgewater Arts and Crafts Show , Madison, Alabama

Sunday November 16th from 10-5

This show sounds like fun!

Well, it sure was fun at the Renaissance Faire!

All I got done on my costume was my hat..

No! that's not me!

Those guys are a foot taller... and

kind of cute under those helmuts!

Not much of a sale day, but a lot of fun.

All sorts of wild events going on all day, and great food too!

October 25th & 26 2008

Just a quick note to let you know that my copper sculptures will be showing at the Alabama Renaissance Faire in Florence this Saturday,

Sept. 25th - 26th from 10 am to 6 pm. and Sunday from noon to 6pm.Admission is free!

Please come by and see my new sculptures and fountains!

One of my patrons recommended this show to me, and it sounded like fun!

I have never been to one before, but often thought of it!

I hope to see you there!

Barb : )

Living Art Water Gardens Art Show

The Hemphill Thrill was a blast!

It was wonderful spending time with good friends and meeting some new ones too!

I am now working furiously on new pieces for my next show at :

Living Art Water Gardens in Hampton Cove., Al.

on Oct. 11th

Next Show...

Many of you asked where I will be next so I promise to update you all here!



Sept. 27-28th

I'll be at :





near the northern
Alabama/Georgia border


address is 1705 Hemphill rd. Summerville Ga. 30747

and to get directions:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1705+Hemphill+rd.+Summerville+Ga.+30747&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=43.983628,57.392578&ie=UTF8&ll=34.57556,-85.393982&spn=0.718011,0.896759&t=h&z=10&iwloc=addr

This show is not an Art Show, though I will bring some to show and sell : )

It is about metalshaping, powdercoating, and all things Metal.
There are going to be some Really neat folks doing things most people don't get to see, so it should be lots of fun for anyone with an inquiring mind!

I'll do some flower shaping and patina demos too.
Media will be there... now where did I leave that paper bag....scissors....

Please come on by! It's free!

Monte Sano Art Show

Wow! This years show was an epic success.
Thank you so much to all my customers that came by and said hello.
This years sales were fantastic! I had no idea how many folks were reading this little blog!

I'll have to take much better care and post more often!

It sprinkled a bit during set up but thankfully water is no problem with my work. That all cleared out and overall I was really happy with the weather.

I had my usual problems with electricity, but thank goodness for my
wonderful friend Kerry Pinkerton who was nice enough to loan me his (Really cool) little and very quiet generator. To compound his good deed Kerry and his lovely wife Carolyn came by at the best possible time to save me once again, as the generator was stalling.

I thought I was out of gas so I went off to "borrow" a cup.
If anyone knows who was in the booth selling that Peanut Brittle
(it was OUT OF THIS WORLD) please let me know?
He was nice enough to give me some gas.
I lost the label (I may have eaten it...) and want to buy a small truckload of that brittle!

UPDATE: It's Uncle Salty's old fashioned handmade gourmet Peanut Brittle. Incredible stuff! Made right here in Huntsville too. Now where to buy it? I'm working on that too.
Watch for a second Update...

Kerry quickly figured it out that now I wasn't low on gas,
I was low on oil. (it's always something!)
A very nice chainsaw artist nearby http://www.andycummingsart.com/ was kind enough to give me a bit, and I was back in business. The oil intake is hidden behind a panel so I wasn't even aware that it used oil. It was great to have them come visit with me and I hope they enjoyed the show!

My new homemade folding display racks worked out really well and I was very happy that others liked them too.

Duh, I forgot my Camera! If anyone got some photos please let me know? I'd love to post them here.

Now I have to really work like mad this week! I am Very low on inventory now, and have all these shows coming up fast, a wonderful position to be in. : ) Thank you so much everyone!

Show Schedule

This Saturday Sept. 20th I'll be showing my
Copper Sculptures and Fountains at the Monte Sano Art Show.

http://montesanowartshow.org/

Please stop by and say hello! The weather should be perfect!
This is one I really look forward to every year!

Map: http://www.stateparks.com/gmaps/curlocation.asp?lat=34.73139&lon=-86.50417&z=12

Rose Garden?

More for that large fountain, I'm way behind on my photos!

Yellow Flowers

Here are some for a large fountain..

They are made of copper sheet and wire, hand formed and 12" tall

Here was a really interesting commission, this was a cross section of the structure of a pine needle. A gift from a Dad for his pine needle basket artist daughter. Really neat, I thought.
Here is the photo he sent me for inspiration.

Here is what I came up with. The large medallion is 3" wide and is meant as a center medallion for a pine needle bowl.

I am so grateful for finding a medium that I will never get enough of, and wonderful patrons who also share a passion for metal.

And 30 of these climbing...

(roses will be red and leaves in verdigris with copper edges, the frame will remain copper)

This is the left side of the frame. There is a Left, Right and Center section... The bowl will be 44"x 24" and the trellis will be 36" tall in the back (center) section. Those blank panels will have some bees and dragonflys, ladybugs and butterflies on them in repousse.

Low yellow flowers will separate the 6 Purple Iris' with water from beneath them.

Two cherubs will perch in the center squares, a girl with a bird on her lap and a boy with a jug... yes pouring more

water into a large set of leaves leading it down to the bowl.

Kerry and Carolyn's Fountain

This is my largest commission yet..

I'll post updates... just parts for now...

6 of these water flows from the petals.

This was a PGAS Press Pass... sort of a joke in a limited edition for members of one of my favorite forums.

PGAS ... they decided the pass should have a pigs behind and the tail could be the p...

This guy popped into my head!

In copper with liver of sulphur patina. Limited edition. LOL!

Rose of Sharon Sculpture

A better photo, see more of this and others, in my sold gallery soon!
Update
Sharon sent me this lovely letter and has graciously allowed me to post it here:

Hi Barb,

I can't tell you what a beautiful surprise I received!
The copper Rose of Sharon's are spectacular.
The color in them is amazing, and I love the copper trim around the roses and leaves.
You are quite an artist. Rondo knows how much I love the Rose of Sharon plants, and where we moved it's too cold to keep them, so he thought this was a "special" way that I could still enjoy my Rose of Sharon flowers.
I can't even imagine the amount of work that went into this artwork you did for me. Thank you so very much, I will cherish my Rose of Sharon flowers and pitcher---forever!
(Except for the next couple of days, Rondo is taking it to the metal meet this weekend to show everyone)

Thank you again for this wonderful work of art.
Sharon Biggs


Thank you Sharon! It is my pleasure, and greatest joy when I can make someone happy with what I love to do!

Some better photos

If you are really lucky, there are times in your life when you'll meet people

that really have an impact on your life in a good way.

Kerry Pinkerton has been that way for me. Kerry's always inspiring me with his patience and encouragement, and he's taught me so much about so many different ways of doing things.

Kerry makes very high quality English Wheels for metalworking.

His website is at http://wheelingmachines.com/

He built me this custom wheel:

I am in the process of creating a large outdoor fountain for he and his lovely wife Carolyn.

I'll post pictures and a video on the site when it is finished.

Where did my May go?

What a wonderful month! I have so much to tell and show it will take a bit of work..

Speaking of work, I have been swamped with wonderful commissions lately and need to find a slow spell to get a chance to post it all here! It looks like that might be mid-June!

Please forgive me if I post bits in fits and starts!

Here is one that shipped out to Wyoming this week!

I can't wait to hear what Rondo's wife has to say about her surprise!

It sure was hard to let it go...

(better photos to come, these were quick snaps)

What? A month?

Another month has flown by... So much has happened I can't begin to say..

I'm very busy with copperwork and making plans- putting together ads for magazines.

I'll just add to my thank you's for now.Thank you to my Wonderful friend Allison for making my life so much more fun.

I'd also like to thank Dan Shady for introducing me to a really wonderful group of people and being a fantastic friend and human being! Dan has taugh me so much in the precious little time I have had to spend with him, I am ever grateful to him. His Daughter Lindsay is incredibly talented and I will try and post some of her work here...

So much to do!.... more later...

Oh what a week!

Ok.. sorry I got sidetracked!
To all of you who wrote me last week and liked what little there is of my blog- Thank you!
So this week I'll just have to thank my wonderful customers!
They kept me so busy last week I had no time to write : }

tonights Thank you!

Tonights Thank You goes out to Wonderful glass artist Terry Hale in Madison, Al.
Not knowing me at all- Terry was so nice to show me how to use my Smith Little torch when I first started Coppretta. I was really intimidated at the thought of my (clumsy) self with something that could explode! No amount of reading was going to give me the courage to try it.
Terry is so patient, funny, and such a joy to be around! I'm so glad to have such a wonderful friend. I need to go visit soon, it's been so long but we have both been very busy! : }

Terry's website:
http://halefireglass.com/

PS. I was lucky enough to purchase this frog... and a bunch of friends for him!

Research

Today I spent most of the day doing web research on plants and working in the website photos.

Saturday I'm looking foward to a trip with a wonderful customer friend Rachel, for a wildflower tour! Rachel was the first to suggest the wildflowers in driftwood, which has been really interesting. I am still working on a large group of them but got a bit sidetracked with some commissions that came up. : } Always a good thing!

Tomorrow I'll post some pictures here,
That's all for now!

Finally, a Blog!

Hello Everyone!



I have been going on adreneline it seems for weeks now. Last week I met a great bunch of guys at the Dixieland Metal Meet. What a blast! Think all sorts of guys, like one big family, all busily cutting, hammering, grinding, and welding. Sparks flying everywhere and everyone learning something in the midst of all that. I never said I had a normal appetite for life! It was wonderful, exhausting but wonderful.

Next time I am taking those 1 inch thick flip flops I never wear and epoxying them to the bottom of my shop shoes! The concrete floors are rough on the bones, especially if you have broken your toes a few hundred times like I have. Did I say I was clumsy? Ok, Done. The guys that were still there on Sunday got or were taught by me and made their own copper orchid to bring home. These guys know metal and did a wonderful job on them!

Since this is my opening post of my Blog I have to say I need to thank a few people and tell my bits about them. This will take many posts so I'll do one a day and see if I ever catch up to the present time.

Gee, I hope I don't!

I need to start by thanking my friend Sherry Montez (website coming soon) Who first got my gears going after showing me her lily flower made of a scrap of copper sheet someone gave her.
Thanks to you too, scrap giver-whoever you are.
Ideas have been flooding my brain ever since and I just moved on to my third sketchbook!
I could live three lifetimes and no be able to build it all.

I have limited myself to a 10 minute post each night, and my time is already up!
{Edited for Reality} LOLOLOL Naaa! I was never good at schedules.
too much to learn out there.

Maybe this will improve my typing speed!{edited for Reality} Wahahahaha! Not.

Till tomorrow..